Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler was quite the outstanding pitcher in the NL in 2024 which included a 16-7 record with a .192 opposing batting average, a 0.96 WHIP and 224 strikeouts in 200 innings pitched. It was also arguably a career-best season for Wheeler.
This is the type of season that Phillies fans can look back on and remember how truly dominant he was as a Phillie as he builds a Hall of Fame case, per MLB.com's Mike Petriello. The 2024 season finally looked to be the year that Wheeler could break through as the league's best and earn himself his deserving first Cy Young Award. That plan seemed well in order until Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale rose from the dead to deliver one of the best Cy Young seasons ever.
Zack Wheeler receiving a fourth-place vote in NL Cy Young results is a disgusting joke
Wednesday night marked the announcement of the Cy Young Awards for both the National and American Leagues in MLB. The ballots were turned in by the Baseball Writes' Association of America (BBWAA) and some very interesting decision-making came from one writer in particular.
This is the @officialBBWAA ballot breakdown. pic.twitter.com/nWVkkrqujl
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) November 20, 2024
Unsurprisingly, Wheeler finished behind Chris Sale who took the NL pitching Triple Crown in 2024, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Sale won 26 of the 30 first-place votes. This marks the second time Wheeler has finished second, the last being in 2021 against the revered Corbin Burnes.
What is very much surprising is the lone fourth-place vote for Wheeler. That questionable ballot was cast by David Brandt of the Associated Press, who covers the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Brandt had Sale winning the award followed by Paul Skenes in second, Hunter Greene in third, Wheeler in fourth and Dylan Cease in fifth. You can make the case for rookie sensation Skenes to sneak into second place, but how could Hunter Greene somehow surpass Wheeler even for third place?
Nothing against Greene and what he did for the Cincinnati Reds last year, but Greene was simply not better. Greene finished 2024 with a 9-5 record and a 2.75 ERA. In 26 starts, he accrued 169 strikeouts in 150 1/3 innings pitched. The only close stat was bWAR, in which Greene finished with 6.3 while Wheeler finished with 6.1.
Wheeler led every pitching statistic over Greene all while having six more starts under his belt. Wheeler did everything he could to become the first Phillie to win the award since Roy Halladay accomplished it in 2010. On top of finishing runner-up again, other pitchers (and one particular writer) are somehow taking the shine away from what Wheeler accomplished in 2024.